January 17, 2017

King Leered in Left’s Legacy

If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive to see his monument in Washington, D.C., it would probably give him great pride to see his likeness standing at the foot of the Tidal Basin, facing the Jefferson Memorial. No two men could be more perfectly situated than our nation’s visionary on religious liberty and the man who used that freedom to champion a revolution of human dignity. Long before his memorial looked toward Jefferson, Dr. King lived his life in line with the democratic ideals of the third president. They were two great leaders, living in two very different times — but their dreams were both firmly rooted in the freedom of faith. So it’s somewhat fitting that this year we celebrate Religious Freedom Day on the same date we remember one of the most influential ministers in American history.

If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive to see his monument in Washington, DC, it would probably give him great pride to see his likeness standing at the foot of the Tidal Basin, facing the Jefferson Memorial. No two men could be more perfectly situated than our nation’s visionary on religious liberty and the man who used that freedom to champion a revolution of human dignity. Long before his memorial looked toward Jefferson, Dr. King lived his life in line with the democratic ideals of the third president. They were two great leaders, living in two very different times — but their dreams were both firmly rooted in the freedom of faith. So it’s somewhat fitting that this year we celebrate Religious Freedom Day on the same date we remember one of the most influential ministers in American history.

“No nation,” Jefferson said, “has ever existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be.” President Obama certainly tried to change that. [Yesterday], while the country celebrate[d] 231 years of religious liberty, one of its greatest threats is finishing out his final week in the Oval Office, offering a hollow tribute to America’s most fundamental right. When Barack Obama recognizes Religious Freedom Day, as he did over the weekend, he is doing so as the leader of the most oppressive administration in American history. While he praises religious freedom as “a universal and inalienable right,” dozens of Christians are in court, fighting the administration for the right to exercise it in their businesses, doctors’ offices, pharmacies, schools, and even football games. While he sends our troops to engage the enemies of freedom, thousands of service members are too worried about the backlash to exercise it themselves. While he insists that his administration “has worked with coalitions around the globe to end discrimination against religious minorities,” millions of persecuted Christians are still begging the U.S. to intervene on their behalf.

In eight years, President Obama’s words have never matched the administration’s actions. Instead, political correctness has become the ruling virtue of this White House’s religion, trampling anyone who doesn’t come in line with its policies on abortion, contraception and marriage. Religious liberty is more than the ability to read the words of Scripture. It’s the ability to live out the principles and precepts found on its pages. That’s what this president has dismantled policy by policy. Of course, American Christians have experienced nothing compared to the gruesome punishment our brothers and sisters undergo daily around the globe for simply practicing their faith in Christ. But the precursor to persecution is always repression, the forcing-down of faith into quiet corners where its visibility and impact are limited. For the third consecutive year, we’ve witnessed a historic level of persecution of Christians around the globe — largely because America has gone silent on this fundamental and essential human right.

Fortunately, it’s never too late to do something about it. What we need is an administration that will return to the fundamental understanding of the freedom of religion — not in words, but actions. We need a State Department determined to make our First Freedom a first priority. We need a return to advocating the values that made America an exceptional nation. Let’s hope that four days from now, the new administration puts us on the road to exactly that.

For more on what the Trump team can do to about religious freedom, check out my new op-ed on FoxNews.com.

Originally published here.

Taking CAIR of Business

Donald Trump and Rev. Franklin Graham have one thing in common: They’re not easily intimidated. Apparently, that memo never made it to the extremists at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who seem intent on pressuring the new administration to drop Billy Graham’s son from the inaugural program. “If President-elect Trump truly seeks to unite our nation as he promised in his acceptance speech,” the controversial group ranted, “he will limit the list of those offering prayers at the inauguration to religious leaders who work to bring us together, not to create divisions between faiths. Rev. Graham’s ill-informed and extremist views are incompatible with the Constitution.”

And what views are those exactly? That religious freedom exists for people of all faiths? That every person has a right to life and liberty? Franklin Graham’s views aren’t incompatible with the Constitution — they’re in the Constitution.

Thankfully, but not surprisingly, CAIR’s complaints have fallen on deaf ears in the Trump team, where they respect and appreciate Franklin’s role in mobilizing evangelicals to vote in November. The president-elect himself hasn’t been shy in pointing to Graham as one of the major factors in his election success. “I want to thank so many great people, but having Franklin Graham, who was so instrumental — we won so big — with evangelicals.” And for the Grahams, Friday’s event is a continuation of a longstanding family tradition. Ninety-eight-year-old Billy Graham prayed at the inauguration of several presidents — including Democrats.

If anything, CAIR should be praising Franklin’s participation. After all, his charity, Samaritan’s Purse, just finished work on an emergency field hospital in Iraq — where the same Muslims CAIR accuses Graham of disparaging are getting life-saving treatment. So perhaps it isn’t the accused we should be looking at, but the accuser. As FRC’s own Lt. General Jerry Boykin pointed out, “CAIR has been labeled as a terror group by the governments of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, yet we let them operate freely in the U.S. as a credible voice; they are in fact an evil group that has no good intentions for this nation.” In other words, when it comes to the inauguration, Trump shouldn’t care about CAIR!

Originally published here.

One Painting’s Brush With Conservatives

America is dealing with enough racial tension — the last thing it needs is for a student art competition to pour gasoline on the fire. But, unfortunately, that’s exactly what has happened recently as Democrats and Republicans clashed over an offensive interpretation of Ferguson that hung in a highly trafficked area of the U.S. Capitol. After local law enforcers complained about the painting, which depicted them as pigs pointing guns at African-Americans, conservative members took turns pulling the piece off the wall and marching it to the sponsoring representative’s office. After a few days of this back-and-forth, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) explained that this was about more than artistic expression.

“I couldn’t help but think of all of America’s law enforcement, in addition to our military men and women, who put their lives on the line every day… I thought of all the men and women who honorably and faithfully wear a badge, who protect our communities and streets. I thought too of our collective obligation of a society to uphold these defenders of law and justice, even though too it is right that decision makers hear and respond properly to instances when law enforcement does overstep… There’s nothing inclusive or healing when police officers are referred to as swine. Even if the painting is put back where it once hung, at least the message was sent to America’s police departments and law enforcement that their service is valued.”

National fraternities of police — including DC’s — contacted Congress over the insult and demanded the picture come down. And on Friday, they got their wish. Rep. David Reichert (R-WA) asked the Capitol architect to settle the dispute, complaining that the painting “violated standards set by the House Office Buildings Commission” — a small panel of House leaders — that prohibit artwork with “contemporary political controversies.” The Capitol architect agreed. Americans everywhere cheered.

For Duncan Hunter and David Reichert, it was an important victory for the brave in blue.

“This painting hung … was a slap in the face to the countless men and women who put their lives on the line everyday on behalf of our safety and freedom,” Reichert said. “Tragically, we have seen that the growing divide between law enforcement and the communities they serve can prove fatal. For the sake of those who wear the badge and the security of our families, we must work on addressing those tensions by listening to one another, rather than acting in ways that further deteriorate the relationships that are so critical to our safety.”

Originally published here.


This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.

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